FoundationDB is a multi-modelNoSQL database with a shared nothing architecture.[2] The product was designed around a "core" database, with additional features supplied in "layers."[3] The core database exposes an ordered key-value store with transactions.[4] The transactions are able to read or write multiple keys stored on any machine in the cluster while fully supporting ACID properties.[5] Transactions are used to implement a variety of data models via layers.

The FoundationDB Alpha program began in January 2012 and concluded on March 4, 2013 with their public Beta release.[6] Their 1.0 version was released for general availability on August 20, 2013. On March 24, 2015 it was reported that Apple has acquired the company.[7] A notice on the FoundationDB web site indicated that the company has "evolved" its mission and would no longer offer downloads of the software.[8]

On April 19, 2018, Apple open sourced the software, releasing it under the Apache 2.0 license.[9]

Layers map new data models, APIs, and query languages to the FoundationDB core. They employ FoundationDB's ability to update multiple data elements in a single transaction, ensuring consistency.[3] An example is their SQL layer.[10]

Commodity clusters

FoundationDB is designed for deployment on distributed clusters of commodity hardware running Linux.[11]

Replication

FoundationDB stores each piece of data on multiple machines according to a configurable replication factor. Triple replication is the recommended mode for clusters of 5 or more machines.

Scalability

FoundationDB is designed to support horizontal scaling though the addition of machines to a cluster while automatically handling data replication and partitioning.

Systems supported

FoundationDB supports packages for Linux, Windows, and macOS. The Linux version supports production clusters, while the Windows and macOS versions support local operation for development purposes. Configurations on Amazon EC2 are also supported.[12]

Programming language bindings

FoundationDB supports language bindings for Python, Go, Ruby, Node.js, Java, PHP, and C, all of which are made available with the product.[12]

FoundationDB, headquartered in Vienna, VA,[12] was started in 2009 by Nick Lavezzo, Dave Rosenthal, and Dave Scherer, drawing on their experience in executive and technology roles at their previous company, Visual Sciences.[13]

In March 2015 the FoundationDB Community site was updated to state that the company had changed directions and would no longer be offering downloads of its product. The company was acquired by Apple Inc., which was confirmed March 25, 2015.[14][7]

On April 19, 2018, Apple open sourced the software, releasing it under the Apache 2.0 license.[9]